Animal Collective to Re-Release Campfire Songs on Paw Tracks, New EP Fall Be Kind in December?
Animal Collective's all-too-infectious single "My Girls" may be getting spun in the clurrrb by the DJ who insisted on playing "Music is My Hot Hot Sex" over and over seven whole months after it accompanied the iPhone commercials, but let us not forget that Avey Tare & Co. used to mess around in their basements (and probably still do to a large extent) creating weirdo-beardo bleeps, blops, and ambient nature recordings.
That said, Animal Collective's label Paw Tracks plans to re-release 2003's über-minimalist Campfire Songs (TMT Review) on January 26. I applaud this development, because without it, Campfire Songs would have gone out of print entirely on its former record label Catsup Plate, slipping further and further into relative obscurity.
Campfire Songs, as some of you might know, is a hodgepodge of five songs recorded entirely without electronics, instead choosing to focus on minimalist acoustic strumming, the back-to-nature (and very real) sound of birds chirping in the distance, and AC's trademark experimentalist harmonies. The album, which was literally made behind a screen door in Maryland, is recorded so that the listener can hear small gusts of wind and nature sounds in the background, providing a tangible "feeling and atmosphere of the outdoors and the warmth of a fire." The tracklist is below:
1. Queen in My Pictures
2. Doggy
3. Two Corvettes
4. Moo Rah Rah Rain
5. De Soto De Son
Meanwhile, the Collected Animals message board is abuzz about a rumored new EP, titled Fall Be Kind, supposedly set for release December 8 via Domino. The source? This Amazon order page. Since it's priced at $11.38, perhaps this could be a full-length? No confirmation from any camp just yet, but we'll keep you updated.
Pavement to Curate ATP in May 2010, Tickets on Sale Friday
- Who: Pavement
- What: ATP 2010 weekend, curating and headlining
- When: May 14-16, 2010
- Where: Minehead, England
- Why: Because they're reunited, and it feels so good.
From ATP:
It would be fair to say, we at ATP get to present some very special bands. But we are beyond excited to announce that legendary US band Pavement will headline and curate the weekend of May 14th-16th in 2010!
After years of speculation, arguably the most important American band of the Nineties is returning to the stage with the line-up of Mark Ibold, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010 including curating and performing at ATP Weekend 2 on May 14th – 16th.Described in their own Wikipedia entry as having experienced "moderate commercial success," Pavement's catalogue for the Matador, Domino, Drag City and Treble Kicker imprints has come to define in the eyes of many, the blueprint for independent rock over the past generation and we are thrilled to have them join our illustrious list of curators.
Tickets are priced at £160pp for room only and £170pp for self catering and go on sale this Friday 9th October at www.atpfestival.com
See below for full information on Early Bird and Instalment Tickets...
A second ATP festival weekend featuring a different curator on May 7-9th, 2010 will be announced next week!
Find more info on the reunion shows at their official website.
RIP: Suzanne Fiol, founder of Brooklyn venue ISSUE Project Room
From ISSUE Project Room:
It is with great heartbreak and sorrow that ISSUE Project Room announces the passing of our founder, artistic director, and driving force, Suzanne Fiol. Born on May 9, 1960, Suzanne died at 1:05 pm on Monday, October 5, 2009, after fighting a courageous and inspiring battle against cancer. Suzanne passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Our hearts go out to her daughter Sarah, her sister Nancy, and her parents Lawrence and Arlene Perlstein.
Jay Reatard Ain't Got No Band No More
We all know that keeping a band together can be tough; we’ve all seen (and loved!) That Thing You Do, but now Jay Reatard knows firsthand that a band often functions as a collective, and that sometimes communal projects simply fall apart once Europe gets involved (like with Russia, for instance).
While using Twitter, Jay Reatard had this to say: “Band quit! Fuck them! They are boring rich kids who can't play for ahit anyways ... Say hello to your ugly and boring wifes opps I mean lifes guys suck it." Apparently, Mr. Reatard was so broken up about the whole thing that he forgot how to use the DELETE key to erase his mistakes. Or perhaps he's trying to exhibit a certain level of authenticity?
So, yes, drummer Billy Hayes and bassist Stephen Pope have left the band and Reatard is, of course, looking for a couple new string and skin men. And, at the moment, none of Jay Reatard’s upcoming European or U.S. tourdates have been cancelled.
Phoenix to Release Remix Collection of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Conquer Playlists of Men with Waist Sizes Under 30
Life is good for the members of Phoenix. Whether sidling their way into the Coppola family, rocking the stages of Saturday Night Live, or sounding cool in a reggae mash-up, Phoenix have been living well as of late. Their latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, has garnered rave reviews and is a lock for best-of lists at the end of 2009. So how do they close out the year? By releasing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection), a 15-track digital release that’s pretty self-explanatory.
The album will be released October 20 via Loyaute/Glassnote Records. You can listen to Animal Collective’s remix of “Love Like A Sunset” in the meantime. Tracklist below, which also doubles as a list of their cool friends:
1. Lisztomania (Alex Metric remix)
2. Fences (The Soft Pack remix)
3. 1901 Bo Flex’d (Passion Pit remix)
4. Lasso (2 Door Cinema Club remix)
5. Fences (25 Hrs A Day remix)
6. 1901 (L’aiglon remix)
7. Love Like A Sunset (Turzi remix)
8. Fences (Boombass remix)
9. Lisztomania (A Fight For Love – 25 Hrs A Day remix)
10. Fences (Friendly Fires remix)
11. Armistice (Yacht remix)
12. Girlfriend (Young Fathers remix)
13. Fences (Chairlift remix)
14. Rome (Neighbours with Devendra Banhart)
15. Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective remix)
It’s Official: China Hates Indie but Loves Beyoncé; Buzzcocks, British Sea Power Banned from Modern Sky Festival
Foreign affairs enthusiasts will know that on October 1 China celebrated its 60th anniversary as the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese authorities also used this opportunity to extol their country’s cultural “purity” by cancelling all foreign acts at an upcoming indie music festival.
Bands including Buzzcocks, British Sea Power, and International Noise Conspiracy (sorry guys the word ‘conspiracy’ really just doesn’t go down well in perennially-insecure China) were scheduled to play at the Modern Sky Festival in Beijing from October 4-7. Foreign acts were due to comprise “over a quarter of the festival's performers.”
China’s Ministry of Culture made it clear that “the city's cultural administration authorities and the cultural and entertainment businesses will redouble their efforts to ‘focus on enforcement, to ensure safety’ in order to eliminate all kinds of security risks... in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding [of the People's Republic] in a safe, cultural atmosphere."
China clearly feels that Beyoncé is conducive to a “safe, cultural atmosphere” when it was confirmed that she will be able to bring her “‘I Am...Sasha Fierce’ tour to the Chinese capital for a single show on October 23.”
So it’s official then: indie constitutes a “security risk,” while pop ensures a “safe, cultural atmosphere.” The staff at Tiny Mix Tapes are incensed and begin their boycott of China today with a freeze on all purchases of Chinese food (TMT writers’ staple diet). We hope our fellow indie-lovin’ Americans will follow suit.
Efterklang Sign To 4AD, A Subsidiary of Cap'n Crunch
The good news: jubilant Danish indie-rockers Efterklang have signed to legendary label 4AD. The group plans to release their follow up to 2007’s Parades on the label in early 2010, in all areas except Scandinavia, where they will put it out on their own Rumraket imprint.
Fans waiting for the band’s new record can sate themselves with Performing Parades, a CD+DVD set capturing the band’s September 2008 performance of Parades with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra at Copenhagen's Koncerthuset. Performing Parades will be out October 19 on The Leaf Label.
The bad news: signing to 4AD made Efterklang remember how much they loved This Mortal Coil. They’ve been locked in their room listening to It Will End In Tears for days now. Somebody make sure those boys are okay!
Jawbox to Reissue For Your Own Special Sweetheart; Album Title Still Misleading
Listening to Jawbox’s “FF=66” -- with its spastic guitar and J. Robbins’ shouted lyrics -- you have a hard time imagining that they ever recorded for a major label. But in the early-to-mid 90s, when label heads were sniffing for any Nirvana-like potential, the outliers of years past got fat advances and a little airplay on MTV (when such a thing existed). Of course, the whole experiment of Jawbox recording for Atlantic Records didn’t work out as planned for the label. (Somewhere, a former A&R guy is crushed about signing a band with rampant male pattern baldness and thinking you could market that successfully.)
But Jawbox did release For Your Own Special Sweetheart on Atlantic, probably their most critically acclaimed and revered album. And like all great albums of yesteryear, the album will be getting the reissue treatment from Dischord/DeSoto Records and is slated to come out November 23, 2009. You can purchase it on CD or vinyl, plus the reissue includes three tracks from the Savory + 3 EP.
DeSoto writes that the reissue “is a pretty meaty version of the record, with Zach's drums and Kim's bass getting a thorough re-write, while the guitars enjoy a sprinkling of what ended up being somewhat shallow mid-range in the original.”
RIP: Mercedes Sosa, Argentine folk singer
From The New York Times:
Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, the ''voice of Latin America'' whose music inspired opponents of South America's brutal military regimes and led to her forced exile in Europe, died Sunday, her family said. She was 74.Her remains lay in state at the National Congress, where thousands of people -- many with flowers or Argentine flags -- lined up to pay respects to one of the region's most iconic voices.
''She was the best ambassador the country ever had,'' said Clara Suarez, 63, holding a bouquet of white flowers outside the Congress.
Sosa was best known for signature tunes such as ''Gracias a la Vida'' (''Thanks to Life'') and ''Si se Calla el Cantor'' (''If the Singer is Silenced''). She had been in the hospital for more than two weeks with liver problems and had since been suffering from progressive kidney failure and cardiac arrest.
Her latest album, ''Cantora 1,'' is nominated for three prizes in next month's Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas, including album of the year and best folkloric album.
- Mercedes Sosa official website
- Mercedes Sosa Wikipedia entry
Do I Need to Make A Joke About Pot? Snoop Dogg to Tour With Method Man, Redman, Devin the Dude
What’s a guy like Snoop Doggy Dogg to do after being named the new Creative Chairman of EMI Music’s Priority Records? Yeah, I know -- the obvious answers are to smoke a fat blunt or maybe record a new single with cohort/best buddy Dr. Dre, but in a move that will change the industry as we know it, Snoop has decided to simply travel the country and remind you why he’s a righteous dude.
The West Coast legend, global superstar, and scavenger smoker has announced that he will once again be heading out on tour, this time with supporting acts Method Man (oops!), Redman, and Devin the Dude, under the “Wonderland High School Tour” banner. Exactly what they mean by “Wonderland High School” is beyond my understanding, but who gives a shit? It’s Snoop Dogg!
Snoopy will also be using the tour as a way of promoting his upcoming album, Malice N Wonderland, which is slated to be released December 8. Snoop will also be using the tour as a way of smoking a bunch of pot. Yeah, it’s an obvious joke, but hey, I can’t write about Snoop Dogg and not mention pot at least three times.
Hey! Here are the dates:
10.27.09 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
10.28.09 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
10.29.09 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre Times Square
10.30.09 - Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
10.31.09 - Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
11.01.09 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
11.03.09 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue Theatre
11.04.09 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
11.05.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Epic
11.06.09 - Kansas City, MO - Harrah's Voodoo Lounge
11.07.09 - Robinson, MS - Events Center @ Harrah's Casino
11.08.09 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
White Rabbits Kick Off Fall Tour in Support of Their Second Full-length
After touring throughout the South this summer with indie rock buddies The Walkmen and The Fiery Furnaces, Brooklyn's White Rabbits kick off their fall tour in support of their smashing second full-length album It's Frightening (TMT Review). After starting off in our nation’s capital October 17 at the Rock N Roll Hotel, they’ll continue to hop northward through Philly, Western Mass, and all the way up to chilly Canada before heading to the Midwest. Glass Ghost, Local Natives, and fellow Brooklynites The Suckers will be along for the ride on various dates
10.17.09 - Washington DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
10.18.09 - Philadephia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
10.20.09 - Northampton, MA - Pearl St. Cafe
10.21.09 - Providence, RI - Club Hell
10.22.09 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
10.23.09 - Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rosa
10.24.09 - Toronto, Ontario - Drake Hotel
10.25.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
10.27.09 - Louis, MO - Firebird St
10.29.09 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
10.30.09 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
11.01.09 - Phoenix, AZ - The Clubhouse
11.02.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
11.04.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
11.05.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
11.06.09 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club
11.09.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
11.10.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
